Celebrate Your SHAPE - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - Sep. 24, 2015

Celebrate Your SHAPE

God never wastes an experience. Romans 8:28 reminds us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (NIV). At Saddleback Church, we help people consider five areas of experience that will influence the kind of ministry they are best shaped for:

“Oh, yes, you shaped me first inside, then out …. You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit …. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.” (Psalm 139:13-16 MSG)

God never wastes an experience. Romans 8:28 reminds us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (NIV).

At Saddleback Church, we help people consider five areas of experience that will influence the kind of ministry they are best shaped for:

Educational experiences: What were your favorite subjects in school?

Vocational experiences: What jobs have you enjoyed and achieved results while doing?

Spiritual experiences: What have been the meaningful or decisive times with God in your life?

Ministry experiences: How have you served God in the past?

Painful experiences: What are the problems, hurts, and trials from which you’ve learned?

Your SHAPE was sovereignly determined by God for his purpose, so you shouldn’t resent it or reject it. “Who are you, my friend, to talk back to God? A clay pot does not ask the man who made it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ After all, the man who makes the pots has the right to use the clay as he wishes” (Romans 9:20-21a TEV).

Instead of trying to reshape ourselves to be like someone else, we should celebrate the SHAPE God has given each of us.

Understanding your SHAPE builds self-esteem. There’s an epidemic of low self-esteem in our society today. Most people do not like themselves. Studies have shown one reason is that more than 50 percent of all people are in the wrong jobs. I believe that genuine self-esteem — as opposed to pop psychological self-esteem — is built on two biblical truths. It’s not about raising yourself up by your bootstraps or thinking positively or the “I’m OK; you’re not so hot” philosophy. Genuine self-esteem is built on your relationship with Jesus and knowing what he created you for.

In Daily Inspiration for The Purpose Driven Life, Pastor Rick has taken all the key verses that explain how God created each of us for five purposes and put them into an easy-to-use reference tool that will help anyone study and memorize God’s Word.

About Daily Hope

Everyone needs hope. Daily Hope with Rick Warren shares a meaningful message from Scripture, practical and applicable, to encourage, equip and train people to fulfill God’s purposes for their life. Listen M-F for your daily hope! www.RickWarren.org

About Pastor Rick Warren

Pastor Rick Warren is passionate about teaching people to learn, love, and LIVE the Word! Through the Word, he believes people can attack what he calls the five “Global Goliaths” – spiritual emptiness, egocentric leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic disease, and illiteracy/poor education. Pastor Rick founded Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, which has grown to over 25,000 members, and has more than 300 ministries to groups such as prisoners, CEOs, addicts, single parents, and those with HIV/AIDS.

Pastor Rick’s mission is to provide Daily Hope to listeners through sound Biblical teaching, and he plans to mobilize believers to reach the 2,900 remaining tribes that have not received the Gospel of Jesus. His latest book, The Purpose Driven Life, is about the purpose we find in following Christ, and is the best-selling hardback book in American history, according to Publisher’s Weekly.